"Gentle Mercy" is an old American film from the 1980s. Although many years have passed, there are still many people who pursue or relive this unpretentious masterpiece. The reason why the classic old film in this kingdom has been tempered by the years and still attracts much attention is not only because it won the 56th Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Screenplay, but also because it is the famous playwright Robert E. Lee. In McKee's book "The Story", a classic small plot film that is highly praised.
Many people say that this is a film that allows you to find the meaning of life, because in its small and exquisite story structure, it includes the bittersweet and bittersweet and sad and happy clutches of the world. People who are not familiar with the world may feel that the taste of this film is too bland, and it is not as exciting as commercial blockbusters. But a person who has experienced the wind and frost of the world can definitely smell the fragrance of its inner soul through its outer bland shell.
The film's title, "Tender Mercy," fits the film's themes aptly. Whether it is between the lost male protagonist and the gentle and quiet female protagonist, or between the redeemed male protagonist and all the characters associated with him, they are all wrapped up in the power of this "gentle mercy". It is this quiet and beautiful power that makes the original depressed and ruined life regain the joy and energy of life.
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > gentle mercy is a kind of compassion: accept your past and believe in your future</h1>
(1) Accept your past
The male protagonist in the film, Mike, was a highly talented musician when he was young, and he was very good at writing and singing. His ex-wife, Daisy, is also a brilliant singer and continues to become popular with his behind-the-scenes support. Originally a star couple who were united, they were forced to part ways because of the dispute over fame and fortune and the intensification of family conflicts. Since then, Mike has been depressed, has been indulging in alcoholism, and stranded his music career.
When Mike comes to the heroine Rosa. By the time Lee's hotel, he had been sinking for years and had become a downcast balding middle-aged uncle. At night he drank and fought with his companions in the hotel, and in the morning they abandoned him, but he could not even afford to pay for the accommodation. Someone like Mike may seem to others to have a worrying personality, and taking such a person in may cause trouble for himself at any time. However Rosa. Without the slightest hesitation, Lee accepted him, let him work here, ate with him, listened to him sing in the house, and simply did not allow him to drink during working hours.
Rosa. Lee did something that seemed simple but was hard. Because it's easy to take in a person, but it's hard to really accept a person. Rosa. Lee was able to accept Mike because of her quiet, soft heart. She can capture his fragile and helpless heart through his uninhibited appearance, and she can understand his thoughts through his singing. When she was able to fully understand him, compassion came to her, and a virgin-like feeling made her accept everything from his past.
(2) Believe in your future
In Rosa. Under Lee's calm and gentle breath, Mike had not drunk alcohol for two months. This event is a ladder for them to sublimate their feelings, and love naturally comes quietly between them. They are married, and Mike has made his home in a remote town with land, lovers, and children. As the sun gently shone on the earth, Mike began to write songs again, songs made for his wife by a loving heart.
Mike felt that the song was suitable for his ex-wife Daisy to sing, so he passed the song on to Daisy through his former manager Harry, but was rejected and denigrated by his ex-wife Daisy, and even Harry belittled the song. This made Mike extremely indignant, and his self-confidence was also quite a blow. Although Rosa. Lee repeatedly encouraged her husband, but Mike still couldn't suppress the loss in his heart and threw the door out. When Mike left home, Rosa. Lee kept watching the song Mike had written for her, humming softly.
Rosa. Although Li sincerely appreciates and believes in her husband's musical talent, she is equally worried about whether her husband can withstand the blow again. Again and again, she leaned against the window, anxiously awaiting her husband's return. Fortunately, Mike wandered around and eventually returned home. Rosa. Lee didn't ask anything, just told Mike that she had been studying the song today so he could come back and sing it to him. Mike's heart was now untied, pulling his wife to sit on the edge of the bed, a strong love filled the two of them, and their hearts were closer to each other.
In fact, Mike had tried to drive away in a number of different directions, preparing to continue his exile. But he finally realized that even if the people of the whole world no longer believed in him and did not like him anymore, at least his wife Rosa. Lee loved him and admired him with all his heart. He is no longer lonely and desperate, with the company and encouragement of his wife, he dares to challenge the future. It was also the encouragement of his wife's powerful love that pulled Mike back to the center of the stage again, allowing him to continue to shine brightly.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > gentle mercy is a kind of generosity: instead of killing each other, it is better to help each other</h1>
From a brief meeting between Mike and his ex-wife Daisy, we learn that Mike's relationship with Daisy is very bad, especially when it comes to the relationship between his daughter Sue. Daisy reacted fiercely to Anne's question. From Daisy's point of view, Mike was once a drunkard who drank and beat his wife, a husband who was jealous of his wife's success than himself. But from Mike later with Rosa. In Lee's conversation, we learn more about the real reason for Mike's alcoholism. That's because Daisy once promised Mike to quit the music world and return to the family, but she became popular by singing Mike's songs, and became more and more obsessed with the stage, and then broke her word.
Therefore, with the continuous intensification of contradictions, this former star couple gradually evolved from a lover's relationship to a hostile relationship. After many years, Daisy still can't forget the hurt Mike did to her, and is determined not to let Mike see her daughter. And Mike in Rosa. After Lee gradually gets back on track with the help of him, he has slowly let go of his mustard for Daisy and tried to ease their relationship. So Mike wrote Ben to Rosa. Lee's song was given to Daisy to sing, turning her previous resentment towards Daisy into a blessing, hoping that she would get better and better in her singing career.
Although Daisy does not accept Mike's kindness in the end, Mike's move will plant a seed of love in each other's hearts, and perhaps this seed will slowly take root with the passage of time, reminding them of their good feelings, thus transforming their resentment towards each other into gratitude. This is also the first step in Mike's learning of gentle mercy, rather than killing each other, it is better to help each other.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > gentle mercy is a kind of letting go: facing up to the impermanence of life and cherishing the eternal present</h1>
When we regenerate the courage to embrace the world, God always jokingly gives you a surprise test to determine whether you are really prepared to face the impermanence of life.
As Mike gets rid of the burdens of his past life and prepares for a new life, an even bigger test comes to him. Before he could compensate his daughter and learn to be a good father, he received the bad news that his daughter had died in a traffic accident. At this moment he was going to be with his wife Rosa. Lee went with him to listen to his new record, ironically saying that his new life had begun, and his daughter's young life, which was only 18 years old, was over.
After attending his daughter's funeral, Mike's heart could not be relieved for a long time. As he mechanically mowed the soil in the vegetable patch, he asked a series of questions that might never have an answer. The reason why he asked these things in this way was only because he could not accept the fact that fate had arranged it, that his daughter had died suddenly. The doubts and pain in his heart could not be relieved by anyone but himself. So wife Rosa. Lee could only listen to him quietly and then leave in silence.
This time he needs to have compassion for himself, he needs to let go of the obsession in his heart, see through the impermanence of life, and then truly embrace life. At the end of the film, Mike and his stepson Sonny play rugby with great interest, like an old naughty boy, lively and playful. The setting sun shone on them, and everything around them was draped in a gentle veil, as if it were God's care for the world. Through the power of gentle mercy, Mike once again redeemed himself, learned to face the impermanence of life, and knew how to cherish the eternal present.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > that tender mercy is a beacon that illuminates the homecoming of the lost</h1>
Throughout the film, we witness the magic of "gentle mercy" from the subtleties. This magic, like the spring breeze blowing willows, like the drizzle of moist soil, nourishes everything in the world in silence. As Rosa. Lee's redemption of Mike's love is also like Mike's surrender and forgiveness of his own destiny.
In fact, this kind of "gentle mercy" is a kind of love power, only the power of love can awaken the sleeping heart, and only the power of love can withstand the miserable wind and rain of the world. If there is no more love in the world, life is a dry well, and the colors of all things in this world cannot be seen.
We live in the world, and everyone has a need for love and kindness. Today you go out, you don't have to have an adventure, as long as you meet a friendly smile along the way, you will feel that this day is very beautiful. If you know that there are many people in the world who like you, affirm you, and treat you well, you will feel that life is very good, and this world is very beautiful. Even if you are a person with a very independent heart, this is still the case, no one is independent to the point where they do not need love and kindness from the same kind. ——Zhou Guoping, "Love and Loneliness"
We live in this wonderful, but also bitter human world, there will always be times when we lose the meaning of life, just as Mike once exiled himself and despised himself. But as long as there are people in this world who are willing to give us "gentle mercy," we always have the strength to find a way back to the source of life.
Therefore, this "gentle mercy" is a bright light that illuminates the homecoming of the lost, inadvertently leading us to the truth, to nature, to enlightenment.